A Birmingham independent day school now costs roughly £22,500 to £23,000 a year including VAT. King Edward's School charges £7,695 per term including VAT for 2026/27, and King Edward VI High School for Girls charges £7,512.
Those are the real numbers, and they are the reason most families stop reading. The part worth staying for is what sits underneath them, because at one Birmingham school a household income below £28,000 can mean a place that costs nothing at all.
What the fees actually are
| School | Per term, 2026/27 | Including VAT | Roughly per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Edward's School (boys) | £6,413 | £7,695 | around £23,100 |
| King Edward VI High School for Girls | £6,260 | £7,512 | around £22,500 |
| Solihull School (senior day) | up to £6,272 | check current figure | around £22,600 |
King Edward's School publishes its fees openly, as does King Edward VI High School for Girls. Governors review them annually, so confirm the current year before you budget.
One thing to watch when you compare quotes: VAT now applies to private school fees, and schools publish both figures. A fee quoted at £6,413 and a fee quoted at £7,695 can be the same fee. Always check which one you are looking at.
Fees are not the whole cost
The published fee is the headline, not the total. Budget separately for uniform, which for a senior school with sports kit is rarely under a few hundred pounds, for travel, for school meals where they are not included, for private music lessons, and for residential trips.
Some charges are inside the fee. King Edward VI High School for Girls, for instance, includes books, stationery, materials, personal accident insurance, examination fees and compulsory curriculum day trips. Others are not. Ask for the full schedule of charges rather than the headline.
The bursaries, and how much they are actually worth
This is the section I would most like families on modest incomes to read, because the assistance is far more substantial than most people assume.
Under its Assisted Places scheme, a household income of less than £28,000 could entitle a boy to a free place, with support then tapering on a sliding scale up to an income threshold of £80,000. The school offers up to 25 means-tested assisted places in Year 7, of which around ten are free places, and allocates over £1.5 million a year to the scheme.
It is not only the tuition. Eligible boys may also receive free school meals, free travel, a uniform grant, and payment for compulsory educational trips, which addresses exactly the hidden costs that otherwise make a free place unaffordable.
Solihull School's bursary pages work similarly: means-tested, on a sliding scale, and capable of full tuition remission with further support in certain cases.
| Household income | Likely position at King Edward's |
|---|---|
| Under £28,000 | Could qualify for a free place |
| £28,000 to £80,000 | Sliding scale of partial support |
| Above £80,000 | Not eligible for an assisted place |
Scholarships are a different thing, and smaller
Families conflate these two constantly, and the distinction matters financially.
- A bursary or assisted place is means-tested and can be worth up to the whole fee.
- A scholarship is awarded on merit and is often worth far less. At Solihull School, scholarships are typically 10% remission on tuition.
The important practical point: at Solihull you can hold both, with the scholarship recognising the achievement and a means-tested bursary providing the actual funding. If you need financial help, apply for the bursary. Do not assume a scholarship will cover it.
How to apply, and when
The mechanics are simpler than families expect, and the deadline is earlier.
- Tick the box on the entrance application indicating interest in an assisted place. That is the step people miss.
- Sit the entrance assessment. At King Edward's that falls in early October, about a month after the grammar school test.
- Attend the interview. Candidates in contention for assisted places and scholarships are routinely interviewed, in November for Year 7.
- Complete the financial application with supporting documentation for the fees department.
Note that step one happens at registration, in September. You cannot decide in March that you would like to be considered.
How this sits against the grammar route
You do not have to choose up front, and most Birmingham families should not.
The West Midlands grammar test is free and sat in September. The independent assessments fall about a month later. Sitting both costs you a registration fee and a Saturday, and leaves you comparing real offers in the spring rather than hypotheticals in the autumn.
See our guide to grammar versus independent in Birmingham for how the two tests differ, and our guide to the Birmingham grammar schools for the free route.
See where your child stands today
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Do not rule yourself out before you have asked
In Birmingham the best known independent option under the King Edward's banner is King Edward's School in Edgbaston, and it runs its own entrance test about a month after the West Midlands one, in October. We have had many students over the years who sat that test in addition to the grammar test in September.
Most families will be expected to pay fees, even with a good score, and there is an interview as part of it. So go in prepared for that.
But here is what I would really say to every family on a lower income who assumes this is not for them. Do not be deterred. If your child is exceptional, a scholarship or an assisted place is a real possibility. We have had students in the past who received a full one hundred percent scholarship on the strength of outstanding results. You will never know if you do not sit the test and tick the box.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
How much are independent school fees in Birmingham?
Around £22,500 to £23,100 a year for a senior day place. King Edward's School charges £7,695 per term including VAT for 2026/27, and King Edward VI High School for Girls charges £7,512 per term including VAT. Governors review fees annually, so confirm the current figure before budgeting.
Can you get a free place at a Birmingham independent school?
Yes. Under King Edward's School's Assisted Places scheme a household income of less than £28,000 could entitle a boy to a free place. The school offers up to 25 means-tested assisted places in Year 7, around ten of them free, and allocates over £1.5 million a year to the scheme.
What is the income threshold for a Birmingham school bursary?
At King Edward's School, support tapers on a sliding scale up to a household income threshold of £80,000, with incomes under £28,000 potentially qualifying for a free place. Above £80,000 a family is not eligible for an assisted place.
What is the difference between a bursary and a scholarship?
A bursary or assisted place is means-tested and can be worth up to the entire fee. A scholarship is awarded on merit and is often much smaller: at Solihull School scholarships are typically 10% remission on tuition. At some schools you can hold both, with the bursary providing the real funding.
Does a bursary cover uniform and travel too?
Sometimes. At King Edward's School, eligible boys may also receive free school meals, free travel, a uniform grant and payment for compulsory educational trips alongside fee remission, which addresses the hidden costs that can otherwise make a free place unaffordable.
When do you have to apply for a bursary?
At registration, by ticking the box on the entrance application in September. Candidates in contention are interviewed in November for Year 7 entry, and the financial application with supporting documentation follows. You cannot ask to be considered later in the year.